How long has your code base been around? Jira Software is our oldest project at Atlassian clocking in at 15 years old. That’s a lot of code, and more importantly a lot of repositories with the word “Jira” in the name! Our switch to Git, where it’s common to create more repositories with less contents in each, didn’t help the matter.

If you can relate to this phenomenon, then you can probably relate to the struggle of searching for a specific repository or fork in Bitbucket Server today. New in Bitbucket Server 5.6 we’re taking steps to make the data discovery process much easier through improved repository search and fork discovery.

Improved Repository Search

Depending on the number of repositories you have in Bitbucket, finding the specific one you need can be a bit tricky. If you’ve never visited that repo before, then searching for its name may only show a couple of possible results even if there’s hundreds of repos that match your criteria. Sifting through irrelevant lists isn’t exactly what you hoped to be doing with your day, which is why we’re introducing a better way to find repositories in Bitbucket Server 5.6.

Search results are now easier to navigate, revealing more matching repositories in the quick search (located in the header) as well as on the search results page. The ability to filter repositories has also been added to the repository list page.

Repository Fork Discovery

If your team uses a fork based workflow, you may commonly ask the questions “What repository is this forked from?” or “What forks exist of this repository?”. Until today, it was possible to get an answer only to the first question, leaving you guessing as to how to answer the second.

In Bitbucket Server 5.6 we’re bringing that information to the forefront, by adding a new menu item for “Forks” for each repository. Viewing all the forks in a single place makes it much easier to grok who has been doing what and when.

Try Bitbucket Server 5.6

If you’re currently fielding lots of repositories or forks, then Bitbucket Server 5.6 can help. Give it a try today and see how easier data discovery can improve your 9-to-5.